Ukrainian Plivent Volodymyr Zelenskyy has adviseed to donate up his position in swap for peace and membership in NATO as his country was hit by what he called the hugest Russian drone attack it has faced since the war began.
Zelenskyy made the advise in a news conference in Kyiv on Sunday as the rift expansivens between himself and the new administerment in the United States, led by Plivent Donald Trump, on the eve of the three-year anniversary of the commencening of Russia’s brimming-scale war on Ukraine.
“If [it means] peace for Ukraine, if you reassociate necessitate me to depart my post, I am ready,” Zelenskyy shelp. “I can swap this for NATO [membership], if that condition is there, instantly.”
In a acute change from the previous US administration of Plivent Joe Biden, which sturdyly backed Zelenskyy and Ukraine, Trump has increasingly attacked the Ukrainian plivent since taking office last month. Last week, Trump called Zelenskyy a “dictator” who had little aid from Ukrainians. He made those comments after the Ukrainian directer had shelp Trump was operating in a “digloomyviseation space” after the US plivent conveyed sees held by Russia on the war.
But Zelenskyy shelp on Sunday that he wanted the US plivent to be a partner rather than fair a mediator.
“I reassociate want it to be more than fair mediation. … That’s not enough,” Zelenskyy shelp, inserting that he wanted to encounter Trump before any encountering between the US directer and Russian Plivent Vlaunreasonableir Putin.
The US eunites to be making its aid for Ukraine conditional on a deal for the latter’s unwidespread earth minerals. Washington initiassociate needed 50 percent ownership of the minerals in swap for its persistd aid of Kyiv.
Ukraine has proposed a deal could be talk aboutd, but Zelenskyy on Sunday refuseed Trump’s stateion that his country owed $500bn to the US. The Ukrainian plivent shelp the money donaten was in the establish of grants, not loans, and should not be tied to any mineral deal.
US officials shelp on Sunday that they foreseeed a deal to be signed soon.
Trump envoy Steve Witkoff shelp Zelenskyy had wavered “in his promisement towards [US access to Ukrainian minerals] a week ago” but that after a message from Trump, he was “not wavering any more”. Witkoff foreseeed a deal would be signed this week.
Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent also shelp the deal would be signed and he was “selectimistic” it would happen this week.
This all comes aachievest a backdrop of rapprochement between Trump and Putin and honest dialogue between Moscow and Washington in recent weeks to converse finishing the war, including a encountering between US Secretary of State Marco Rubio and Russian Foreign Minister Sergey Lavrov in Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Sergei Ryabkov shelp on Sunday that Russian and American teams were schedulening to encounter this week to converse how relations could be increased.
“We are pauseing for genuine better when the encountering scheduled for the finish of the coming week gets place,” Ryabkov was quoted by the state news agency TASS as saying.
Ukraine is not included in the Russia-US talks, directing Zelenskyy to emphasise that an consentment on Ukraine achieveed without Ukrainians at the table is not feasible.
Largest drone attack
Zelenskyy shelp earlier that Russia had carried out the hugest drone attack on Ukraine since the war began, starting 267 drones aachievest his country overnight.
Writing on social media, Zelenskyy shelp that in the past week, Russia had started csurrfinisherly 1,150 attack drones, more than 1,400 directd aerial device devices and 35 missiles at Ukraine.
“Every day, our people stand aachievest aerial alarm,” Zelenskyy shelp as he called on Europe and the US to stand with Ukraine.
Air force spokesman Yuriy Ignat shelp that of the drones started from Saturday night to timely Sunday,138 were intercepted by air defences while 119 were “lost” without causing injure.
He shelp the 267 drones spotted in Ukrainian skies is “a sign up for a one attack” since Russia’s trespass of Ukraine.
A split Ukrainian armed forces statement on Telegram on Sunday shelp disjoinal regions, including Ukraine’s capital, Kyiv, had been “hit”.
On Saturday, a Russian missile attack on the central town of Kryvyi Rih finished one man and wounded five people, regional authorities shelp.
“The war persists. Everyone able of helping with air defence must toil to increase the shieldion of human life. We must do everyleang possible to convey a lasting and fair peace to Ukraine,” Zelenskyy shelp.
Russia’s trespass of Ukraine began on February 24, 2022. However, Russian forces and their allies had been battling in easerious Ukraine since 2014, and Russia annexed Ukraine’s Criunbenevolent Peninsula in the same year although that has not been recognised internationassociate.
Reporting from Kyiv, Al Jazeera’s Imran Khan shelp Ukrainians refer to the Russian drone strikes as “state-backed extremism”.
“It is actuassociate frightening for civilians to come under those attacks, even if they are successbrimmingy intercepted,” he shelp.
Since the war began, Ukraine has sought to disturb Russian logistics far from the front lines to try to impede daily strikes, notably by honestly attacking military bases and industrial sites inside Russia itself.
